Adelanto eyes new tax to save itself

VICTORVILLE • The Adelanto City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday night to adopt a declaration of fiscal emergency, looking toward a tax measure as its only hope for solvency.

Before the unanimous vote, Mayor Cari Thomas told a crowd of nearly 50 listeners in the council chambers that it was time for residents to stand with the council.

"I've heard your voices," Thomas said. "Let us pass this, and when we come to you (next year) with some sort of ballot measure, hopefully, make your voices known that you are willing to help step up to the plate and pay for the services you have. There's no other way around it."

After a presentation by Interim Finance Director Onyx Jones and several questions from Councilman Jermaine Wright Sr., the city's message became clear: Residents must pass a tax measure to keep their city services and avoid a county takeover of Adelanto.

Jones laid out the shortcomings of the city's budget, reporting that its tax revenues of $4.5 million are not sufficient to cover the city's $7 million police and fire protection budget — as well as other necessary city services. She said that the city's current reserves are only expected to last until mid-to-late 2014.

According to a city staff report, Adelanto has already cut expenditures by $2.5 million and cut 19 staff positions — 23 percent of the city's workforce — to address the deficit.

The underlying cause, Jones said, is that the city's tax base has been a historical problem.

Jones then walked members of the council through a plan to get the city back on its feet.

"The next step is now educating the public," Jones said, explaining that this includes introducing a measure on the ballot. "The ballot measure is projected to generate possibly $2.6 million, and it would impact residents simply $20 maybe a month more in their bills. That will generate the most income for the city."

"This fiscal emergency would allow a general tax to be put in front of the people for them to vote on and be approved with a majority vote, 50 percent plus one, rather than a two-thirds vote," Litfin said.

Jones said that a recent survey of 300 residents indicated that the ballot measure would pass by a simple majority — but not by a two-thirds majority.

City Manager Jim Hart said the reason property tax accounts for so little of the city's revenue is that Adelanto only receives 1.75 percent of the total amount for a property, leaving the city with a total of $200,000 in property tax revenue.

"That's a direct result of an action the state took in the mid-90s called ERAF (Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds), which essentially took all the tax revenue away from cities that have redevelopment areas in place, and they took that to balance their budget," Hart said.

Adelanto Elementary School District Trustee Debra Jones addressed the council members during public comments, saying that she imagines declaring a fiscal emergency may have its pros and cons, but that the future of Adelanto hangs with their choice.

"The course that you would lay out tonight will impact current and prospective students and their families, and this impact will extend to students — not only the course of the short term but over the long haul," she said. "And I hope that we can all agree that these students are the lifeblood of this community's future."

Curtis Green, a field representative for 1st District Supervisor Robert Lovingood, delivered a statement from the supervisor alerting the council to the importance of their decision Wednesday night — and how at least one 'no' vote may put the city on an irreversible path toward bankruptcy.

"Some of you have said in your campaign speeches that 'I can make the tough decisions.' Well, that time is now," Green told the council before their vote. "Now is the time for the council as a whole to come together and make the tough decisions that will ultimately help the city of Adelanto."

Jim E. Winburn can be reached at jwinburn@vvdailypress.com or at 760-955-5368.

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